Free webp to jpg
EN
Image MIME Reference
Compressed-XCF

Compressed GIMP XCF Image

image/x-compressed-xcf
VS

DICOM Run-Length Encoding

image/dicom-rle
DICOM-RLE

A complete technical comparison of Compressed GIMP XCF Image and DICOM Run-Length Encoding — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Compressed-XCF DICOM-RLE
Transparency (Alpha) Yes ✕ No
Animation Support Yes Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Compressed GIMP XCF Image
image/x-compressed-xcf
Extension
.xcf.gz.xcf.bz2.xcfgz.xcfbz2
Container Gzip or Bzip2 Archive
Compression Gzip (Deflate) / Bzip2
Algorithm
DeflateBWT (Burrows-Wheeler)
Color Depth 8-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Integer/Floating Point), 32-bit (Integer/Floating Point)
Developed by The GIMP Team
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
1F 8B 08 (gzip) or 42 5A 68 (bzip2)
Full Compressed-XCF reference →
DICOM Run-Length Encoding
image/dicom-rle
Extension
.dcm.dicom
Container DICOM (PS3.10)
Compression Lossless (RLE)
Algorithm
Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Color Depth 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit
Developed by National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) / ACR
Released 1993
Magic Bytes
44 49 43 4D (at byte offset 128)
Full DICOM-RLE reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Compressed-XCF DICOM-RLE
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Compressed-XCF

Compressed-XCF Strengths

  • Drastically reduces the massive file sizes of standard XCF project files, saving significant disk space
  • Preserves 100% of the non-destructive editing data (layers, masks, paths, guides) from the GIMP workspace
  • Uses standard, universally supported compression algorithms (gzip/bzip2) meaning the archive can be rescued or extracted by standard OS tools if GIMP is unavailable
Limitations
  • Increases file load and save times due to the CPU overhead required to compress and decompress the massive pixel arrays
  • Impossible for automated tools to parse metadata or dimensions without first unarchiving the payload into memory
  • File extension combinations (.xcf.gz) can confuse basic MIME sniffers which stop reading at the .gz extension
DICOM-RLE

DICOM-RLE Strengths

  • Guarantees lossless preservation of critical medical data necessary for diagnostics
  • Extremely robust metadata structure containing patient information, modality, and spatial geometry
  • Faster to encode and decode than complex compression schemes like JPEG 2000
Limitations
  • RLE compression offers very low compression ratios compared to modern codecs like JPEG-LS or JPEG 2000
  • Zero support in web browsers or standard consumer image viewers
  • Strict data privacy regulations (HIPAA/GDPR) make handling DICOM files complex due to embedded PHI

When to choose which format

Compressed-XCF
Use Compressed-XCF when…
  • GIMP Multi-layer Project Archival
  • Saving disk space for complex raster edits
  • Open-source graphic design workflows
DICOM-RLE
Use DICOM-RLE when…
  • Medical Imaging
  • Ultrasound
  • X-Rays / CT / MRI
  • PACS Archives

More comparisons

Compressed-XCF vs ACES → DICOM-RLE vs ACES → Compressed-XCF vs APNG → DICOM-RLE vs APNG → Compressed-XCF vs AVCI → DICOM-RLE vs AVCI → Compressed-XCF vs AVCS → DICOM-RLE vs AVCS → Compressed-XCF vs AVIF → DICOM-RLE vs AVIF → All comparisons →
Share this comparison